Tuesday afternoon update

Mum received a call from Dr Foote this afternoon to advise that the panel of doctors have decided to get Mum to go to the Spinal clinic on Tuesday next week to consult on possible surgical options on her spinal fracture. This is good news as if it is a viable option, it may relieve some on Mum's pain and improve her mobility.

He also mentioned that he seen her CT scan and is waiting for the radiologists to report on the findings. It is good that it is moving at a fast pace.

Tuesday update

Mum had her CT today so now we await a call from the doctor to let us know the outcome of the scan and also the outcome of him presenting Mum's case to the panel of doctors to consider surgery. So nothing is scheduled in Mum's treatment / diagnosis until then.

Monday

It turns out the 10am appointment today was for an oncology consultation, not a CT as expected. So we met with Dr. Foote who specialises in cancer and matters of the spine so it is a great fit for Mum at the moment. He took a history and considered options. The outcome of the consultation was:

- Mum is having the full body CT tomorrow to identify all lesions on the bone and again look at the best area to biopsy. This will be at 11.40am Tuesday (28/9)

- Dr. Foote is going to present Mum's case to a committee of doctors tomorrow to consider whether surgery on her spine would be a viable option to deal with the disintegrated vertebrae which is causing the pain and mobility issues. The purpose of the surgery would be to insert some sort of implant to replace the bone. I am pretty sure this would make Mum will be like the Six Million Dollar Man.

- The decision for surgery would have to take into account risks such as bleeding which are higher with Mum's pre-existing conditions. A benefit of this surgery would be they would be able to get a viable sample from her spine to test for the type cancer.

He did mention the results from the previous biopsy do have indications of melanoma but this is not in any way conclusive. A diagnosis will have to be based on a better tissue sample before concluding on a diagnosis and treatment plan. At the moment, melanoma is still just a possibility.

On the plus side, Mum has incredibly impressive reflexes. She nearly knocked the Dr. over when he was testing her knee reflexes.

He was a great doctor - he really seemed to know what he was talking about and he mentioned a few different options for where we are going with diagnosis and treatment. He also took the time to talk us through things without it being rushed. He made Mum feel very comfortable and I have confidence she is in extremely capable hands.

What's next

Mum has been scheduled for a full body CT Monday morning (27/9/10) at 10am. Hopefully this will allow them to select a new area to biopsy so they can diagnose the type of cancer.

Results of biopsy

We have just returned back from the hospital. The doctor advised us that the biopsy failed to get any of the cancer cells from the area of the bone they selected. This means Mum needs to have another biopsy to get a better sample and the cancer within her bones is undiagnosed. They are going to schedule a full body CT to select the best place for another biopsy.

The good news is they have actually ruled out myeloma. The tests they have just got back have concluded Mum has the precondition to myeloma, which may or may not turn into myeloma in the future. The Dr said about 10% of people with this precondition contract myeloma so that is off the table now (it is not a concern and there is no treatment required).

So, we know that Mum only has one type of cancer (yay) but we do not know which type yet (boo). We are considering shunning mainstream medicine and seeking out witchdoctors who may have a little more insight at this point. Until then, the CT will be in the next 2 weeks and the results are expected on 7 October.
In the meantime, please continue focusing your good vibes and prayers this way.

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No news is good news

Mum has settled into her new apartment well. It is really nice spot with a good back porch that will be pleasant for Mum to enjoy as an extra living area.

Win worked her bum off to unpack and set it all up. All the boxes are unpacked (except for the laundry cupboard because there are some shelves that need to be installed). She is an unstoppable force and Mum is so very appreciative.

The next update will be after Mum's oncology consultation on Thursday at 340PM. We are expecting a firm diagnosis and a discussion of treatment options.

Saturday - Moving day

Today, a cast of thousands helped Mum and the man in the apartment below swap today (to remove the starts from her daily life). It was just wonderful to see so many people come out to help.

We had Win on cleaning and coordinating duty - and didn't she clean? She scrubbed so hard she was reducing surfaces to their base elements.

Neil was on all things related to tools. He was removing shelves, taking the conditioner off its frame and removing the fittings. He is also going to set up various shelves and other fittings in the new apartment.

Daniel, Scott, Lisa, Mary, Chris, Callum, Declan and I were focused on moving stuff (and Lisa was also working with a space aged vacuum that scared me a little). A special mention goes to Mary for the chocolate chip cookies that keep the team going and Lisa for the jam and custard roll (there was a fancy name for it but of course I cannot spell it and don't want to give Uncle Phil any ammo). Mum was on lunch duty.

It took all day and it was quite an event. The dude in the apartment Mum was moving into was not really prepared. Nothing was in boxes (not even the kitchen) which made for a few more trips up and down the stairs than expected (although I am expecting calves of steel tomorrow as a bonus). It was also a bit of a challenge that he was deaf and mute (and I could not read his hand writing). Just added that bit of drama that any good move needs.

Callum and Declan were fantastic movers. They were willing to do anything and were much stronger than they looked. The basically moved Mum into the new apartment. In the morning, we emptied Mum's apartment into the courtyard in the unit complex and after the big stuff was moved in, I would say the boys moved most of the boxes and bags into the apartment. They had boundless energy and they certainly kept me moving.

Aunty Win got the team working like a well oiled electrical engineering team and was directing the incoming boxes as well as setting up the lounge room.

A big thanks to everyone for their efforts today - it would not have been possible without each person. Mum was very chuffed that everyone would do this for her. The only downside for the day was Declan's brush turkey trap did not yield a bird so it is leftover chicken for dinner.

Now all we need to do is get the department of housing's approval to swap houses. Just details.

Friday - home after the biopsy

Mum is home and helping pack (in her own special way). She seems fine now which is good news.

Tomorrow we are moving her to a ground floor apartment which will make it easier for her to get in and out of the apartment. That starts at about midday but Win has been working tirelessly to pack and clean in preparation. She is a star - Mum would have been lost without her.

Friday afternoon- procedure done

Mum is out from the biopsy. She is fine and quite drowsy. Her back is a little tender but lucky she is on hard core pain medication so she won't feel the worst of it.

I have just offered her some banana bread and her eyes lit up so I think she's faking.

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Friday afternoon

Mum is at her biopsy at the PA. They decided on doing the lesion on her spine over her sternum as her spinal lesion is more likely to lead to a good sample to test. It is a CT guided biopsy so apparently very accurate.

The procedure is comparable to her hip bone marrow biopsy which Mum had no problems with so this should be fine. She should be home this afternoon and reasonably mobile tomorrow.

As mentioned before, the results come back Thursday and treatment will be discussed then. Fingers crossed she tests positive to myeloma (a strange thing to wish for really but we do not want a melanoma diagnosis as that will mean 2 types of cancer).

I'll update tonight when Mum is home.

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Info for families and friends

Here is a link to some information on Mum's disease:

http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/html/patientsfamiliesfriends/typesofcancer/multiple_myeloma/downloads/mutiple_myeloma.pdf

I would suggest the following pages:

P7: What is the disease?
P13: Prognosis

P15-16: treatments

Great reference material - Thanks Cancer Council. Feel free to donate at http://www.cancer.org.au/Getinvolved/donate.htm

Wednesday PM

Mum made it home. She has a plethora of pills and Aunty Win to help her find her feet again. She is back at the PA on Friday for her test and this is expected to be in and out on the same day (although they have a bed reserved in the event she needs to be admitted).

We are then hanging out for test results on the following Thursday (which have been predicted by all of the doctors so we are not expected to be surprised). This should confirm the legion is Myeloma and allow a treatment plan to be put into action.

Wednesday lunch update

Mum's bone biopsy has been scheduled for Friday at 2pm so until then, Mum has been advised she can go home. She will come back to the PA on Friday for the day but it will be unlikely she will need to be admitted at that point. A follow up appointment for around Thursday next week will be made to go through the test results.

At the moment we are just working through the preparations for Mum returning home including medication etc. She is very excited.

Wednesday AM

Mum has been advised that her bone biopsy will not be today. This just means the official diagnosis is delayed by another day. tap tap tap

Tuesday - Further update

Mum is not getting the bone biopsy today. Because the spinal fracture is not impacting the spinal cord, she is not as acute as other patients so it not the highest on the waiting list. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Hematologist doctor visit

We have just had a visit from the Hematologist with some results from the MRI scan. The doctor was Dr. Lane and he looked just like one of the Goodies crossed with Chris Martin from Coldplay. He showed us the scans (which were quite amazing cross sections of Mum's spine) and pointed out the vertebrae which looked like it had collapsed (due to it being weakened by the cancer). This was the reason she was in so much pain. The bone was interfering with the surrounding muscle but not the spinal cord (which was good news). The treatment for this is pain medication, anti-inflammatory medication and physiotherapy (to strengthen the muscle).

There is still a need to perform a bone biopsy to confirm the type of cancer but all relevant opinions are that it is going to find Myeloma. Treatment options will be discussed when the results of this biopsy are known (which will be about 2 days after it is performed and we are still hoping the test will be performed today) and also the results of some other minor tests (blood tests etc).

It has been good to get some more concrete news.

The story so far . . .

To get everyone up to speed, Mum is currently in hospital being treated for myeloma. On Friday, 21 August Mum awkwardly stepped off a bus onto her drive way and felt a twinge in her back. She thought nothing of it at the time but the pain progressively got worse. By Saturday, Mum was not able to move without debilitating pain in her back. A friend popped over Saturday afternoon for a visit and called an ambulance because the pain was so bad.

It took a while for the the PA emergency to see her but they were able to do little and referred her back to her GP on Monday. On Monday, the pain again was too much and Mum caught another medical taxi to the PA but was diverted to the Royal Brisbane Hospital. This was probably a good thing because they decided to actually perform some tests to look for the problem.

So a few tests later they diagnosed myeloma and her pain was coming from a lesion on her spine which had resulted in a fracture. The doctors at the RBH were excellent. Throughout her care there, she saw Dr Bennett, Dr Bushby (but he liked to be called William) and Dr Wainwright. Each of them were caring and very good at explaining to Mum what was going on.

Mum had made an early request to be transferred to the PA as this was the hospital that all of her other procedures has been performed and is also much closer to home. This has eventuated and she is now at the PA as of Sunday 12 September.

So, she has had a skeletal survey (which is fancy medical talk for a full body x-ray), a CT scan, a bone marrow biopsy in the hip and an MRI. She is waiting on the results of the MRI and waiting to have a biopsy of the spinal lesion (which fingers crossed will be very soon today). This will allow the doctors to formally diagnose the lesion on her spine (which is strongly suspected to be from the myeloma). This will then allow them to design a treatment plan.

Mum has seen the PA's occupational therapist who has talked through options to make her house more livable with the the spinal fracture.

So, if anyone wants to contact Mum, she is in the Princess Alexandra hospital, Ward 2E, Bed 55.2. Also, feel free to leave comments here for her to read. Keep checking in here to get updates on her treatment.